Emufest: Tears in Rain

[Ferryman]

The memories of a dying android:

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. Time to die."


A load of electronic guff from me which for some reason made me think of the wonderful android death scene in "Bladerunner" (do watch it if you haven't already). This was mainly done with my new toy, the YouRock guitar, which is a midi guitar controller. Some of the sounds are the onboard synth sounds in the YouRock, which are a bit cheesy but you can mix two sounds (guitar and synth) together. So there is a twelve string in the basic strumming sound mixed with a synth string sound (I hope that doesn't break the Emufest guidelines too much). Most synth sounds are from my Roland PMA5 with the YouRock acting as a midi controller. You can either strum and pick the strings, or you can play it in "tap" mode, which is how I did the melody parts. The percussion is Kaossilator, and the bass sounds and some of the random bleating are also Kaossilator.

Probably too many synths and far too much modulation turning this into a bit of a dirge (also not many notes either!), but it was quite fun.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Geir]

You sure know how to make the most of your toys. That PMA5 sounds great, as do your Yourock "guitar".

Love the feel of this one. Soundtrack material for sure. A great production and great performance.

Love it Nigel !!

[Bluesberry]

Yes....Vangelis...is that you......deadly sounds here Nigel.  It really sounds like you are standing behind a wall of synths like Vangelis...glass of wine set up on the top of one of the synths.....a swirl of smoke coming from an overflowing ashtray nearby...........really strong composition, and no, not too many sysnths, this kind of music demands that wall of synths sound.........Tangerine Dream kind of stuff.....seriously good........Vangelis kind of stuff........that darn PMA5 sounds incredible, like old school synths.  Great job Nigel.

[Facemask93]

Oh yes , Blade runner , The Directors Cut, definatlely in my top five films , and this would fit nicely in it , your YRG sounds awesome Nigel , bet your pleased with it , such a good post , well done mate

Rob

[Greeny]

As someone who has watched Blade Runner (and listened to the soundtrack) far too many times, this has caught a lot of the Vangelis vibe in the synth tones and melodic ambience. But I think it's a lot more immediate than pure soundtrack material. There are some superb melodies weaved in and out of the heady electronic brew. I have to say it's actually better than a lot of the Blade Runner soundtrack! In fact, it's bloody fabulous. You really hit the spot with this one...

[Oldrottenhead]

this is big nigel a massive soundscape loving it as well as vangelis i think at times it is also reminiscent of the instrumental version of  "One More Robot / Sympathy 3000-21"  by the flaming lips


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyglASAnbBA

[64Guitars]

Excellent emuFest post!

I'd love to get a You Rock Guitar. Maybe when I get my tax refund.

Some of the pictures of the You Rock show it with a headstock and some without. Did yours come with the headstock or is it an optional accessory? Does it just snap on like the neck does, or is it attached with screws or some other fasteners?

[Tangled Wires]

I found myself getting totally lost in this, great atmospheric tune with some catchy little melodic hooks just for good measure.

Really well constructed and performed piece of music here Nigel.

[Ferryman]

Thanks for the comments guys. Rob, I am happy with it now but I had a bit of a crisis of confidence after it was finished - the final mp3 really didn't sound as good as I wanted, or like it was during mixdown. But there was a problem with my Real Player playback and when I play it back through the site player it sounds ok. I think like all newly finished work, you need to leave it for a bit as well.

The Vangelis comparison is inevitable, because the handclap percussion is right out of Chariots of Fire. The synth sounds from the PMA5 are really "classic" because it came out in 1996, so has a bit of an old style feel which I like. So they also give it a Vangelis-y vibe, which I don't mind at all. Definitely Tang Dream Dave, possibly also Popol Vuh (another influence). Like you Tim I have seen Blade Runner too many times, although I still like the book a lot more. So I'm really glad you think it fits well.

Jim, you picked up on another influence - Yoshimi is my fave Flaming Lips album, it's definitely an influence.

And 64G, you MUST get a YouRock. Incredible value for what it is. It is fiddly to set up right but I have got mine just how I like it so you can strum it, pick it and tap it. It is really easy to play, although the frets are closer together than on a guitar. I would not use it as a guitar emulator, but as a synth controller it is fantastic for a guitarist.  The headstock is an optional extra which isn't actually available yet. You answered a question for me - there is a flap at the top of the headstock and I had no idea what it was for. But now I realise it is where you attach the headstock!

Thanks again for the feedback everyone.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Redler]

Stunning sounds and very relaxing piece of music, Nigel! This is second listening in a row and I enjoy this a lot via headphones. Fine post!

Kari